Matt Hardy urges Tony Khan to make a major change in AEW - "It's just weird"
AEW is preparing to enter its sixth year of doing business. The young promotion has achieved massive growth in the industry, but Tony Khan and his crew seemingly still have a lot to learn, and great strides to make. Matt Hardy spent four years with AEW and is now offering key advice following a unique announcement from the company.
All Elite Wrestling has moved the December 7, Collision taping from the 20,000-seat Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH to the nearby Greater Columbus Convention Center in the same city. Collision will now be a part of the popular GalaxyCon event, which runs from Friday - Sunday and is expected to draw 22,500 visitors to the venue with 447,000 square feet of exhibit space. The decision was applauded by many as it sparked a discussion about how AEW needs to run smaller venues.
Matt Hardy has endorsed this sentiment. The former AEW star recently discussed the company's move to GalaxyCon on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast. Co-host Jon Alba said running smaller, more intimate venues instead of large, cavernous arenas seems like a no-brainer. The current TNA World Tag Team Champion agreed and thinks Tony Khan should start booking venues for the crowd size that AEW draws.
"It is [a no-brainer], and for AEW those scenarios are tough. You don't need to book those big buildings if you can't constantly or can't regularly get them full, or close to full, because I feel like it's one of those things... if you're in a 10,000 - 11,000-seat venue, and there's a couple thousand people there, people kind of look around, like, 'Oh, are we cool for being here?,' You know it's just weird," Matt Hardy said. [From 15:44 to 16:08]
Hardy continued:
"When you're in a 2,000-seat building, like we are for TNA, and the building's packed, everybody's on top of each other, they're going nuts... that's how it's going to be for AEW, too. I think it'll create a much better vibe for the audience, and also the people that are wrestling in the ring, as well," Matt Hardy said. [From 15:44 to 16:20]
As a performer, Big Money Matt admitted how it's hard to keep adrenaline and motivation up in larger venues with small crowds. He added that empty seats and tarped-off sections also mess with a wrestler's mindset. However, the smaller, more intimate venues come with very involved crowds, and that has a huge impact on the in-ring product.
AEW Rampage to feature first-time-ever matches
All Elite Wrestling will air the 171st episode of Rampage tonight on TNT. The show was taped on Wednesday at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, CT.
Ricochet vs. Dante Martin will headline Rampage in another first-time-ever bout. Komander vs. Rocky Romero and Hikaru Shida vs. Leila Grey are also happening for the first time tonight, with the latter set to open the show.
Mark Briscoe vs. Ariya Daivari will take place tonight in a rematch of Briscoe's win on ROH TV in April 2023. Officials also announced that Rush and The Beast Mortos of La Facción Ingobernable will be in action on Rampage, against Alec Price and Richard Holliday.